CHAPTER 26 



The Oyster Industry of the World 



Paul S. Galtsoff 

 Research Biologist U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 



Introduction 



Among the marine fisheries of the world the oyster industry occupies a unique 

 position. It is the most ancient fishery, and has been in use since the beginning 

 of our civihzation by primitive peoples before they learned the art of fishing and 

 hunting. Numerous shellheaps or so-called "kitchen middens" which dot the 

 shores of Europe, America, Australia, and Africa tell us how important oysters 

 and other shellfish were in the diet of earlier inhabitants of these continents. 

 At present the oyster industry has advanced to such a point that it no longer 

 depends on gathering wild oysters from natural rocks or reefs where they grow 

 in the sea. Through elaborate methods of oyster cultivation the oysterman be- 

 came a farmer who by his efforts and skill converted many thousands of acres of 

 barren sea bottom into productive land imider the water. 



In comparison with the great fisheries of the world, like herring, sardine, cod, 

 and others, the oyster industry contributes annually a relatively modest quantity 

 of sea food. Its economic importance for the communities engaged in the cultiva- 

 tion of oysters is great, however, because the returns of oyster farming often 

 exceed the best returns from farming on land. 



World statistics of the oyster fishery are incomplete and not always dependable. 

 There is no uniformity in reporting data by different countries and therefore 

 comparison of the production in different parts of the world is difficult. The 

 majority of European countries and Japan express the figures of production in 

 metric tons, presumably referring to the total weight of oysters in shells. The 

 United Kingdom and France record the actual number of oysters sold; New 

 Zealand gives the catch in sacks, and the United States records the weight of 

 oyster meat and the number of bushels taken. The different catch figures can be 

 converted to a common basis only by making certain assumptions, which are diflB- 

 cult to verffy without special studies at the places of production. No information 

 is available at present from China and other Asiatic countries, U.S.S.R., and 

 some of the South American republics, in which the oyster industry is not or- 

 ganized, although it is known that considerable quantities of oysters are consumed 

 locally. Official information regarding oyster production in various countries is 

 summarized in Table 118 (p. 551). 



Detailed statistical data of the oyster catch in the United States show that the 

 37,827 metric tons of oyster meat produced in 1945 were obtained from 13,476,400 

 bushels of eastern oyster (Ostrea virginica); 1,443,000 bushels of Pacific oyster 



550 



